India Dismisses China’s Fresh Renaming Attempt In Arunachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI- India on April 12 rejected China’s attempt to assign what it called “fictitious names” to places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such actions cannot change the reality that the state remains an “integral and inalienable part” of India.

Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India “categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India.”

He said China’s efforts to introduce false claims and “manufacture baseless narratives” would not alter the status of these territories, including Arunachal Pradesh.

“These places and territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, were, are, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” Jaiswal said.

India also said such actions by China could hurt ongoing efforts to improve bilateral ties between the two countries.

“These actions by the Chinese side detract from ongoing efforts to stabilize and normalize India-China bilateral ties. China should refrain from actions which inject negativity into relations and undermine efforts to create a better understanding,” he added.

The latest response came after China again released names for locations in Arunachal Pradesh; a move India has repeatedly opposed.

In May last year, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs had issued names for some places in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as Zangnan. India had then dismissed the move as “vain and preposterous,” reiterating that changing names would not affect the ground reality. (IANS)